we don't actually know the details of the dive plan or the dive, only that he went by himself and was found at 120'. If the flow was down and he was negative, he could have drifted to 120' after he died.
Blue Spring SP cavern fatality - Florida
- Thread starter DandyDon
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we don't actually know the details of the dive plan or the dive, only that he went by himself and was found at 120'. If the flow was down and he was negative, he could have drifted to 120' after he died.
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Ok, so I was wrong in my expectations. The media did publish additional information, including that "both registered at Blue Springs State Park as certified cave divers."
See Investigators: Man drowned in Blue Spring after running out of air | News-JournalOnline.com
See Investigators: Man drowned in Blue Spring after running out of air | News-JournalOnline.com
Aotus
Contributor
There can't be an agency that certifies 16yos for cave diving, right? Also, what cave diver wears a weight belt?
Ken Kurtis
Contributor
From the News-Journal Online link that Don provided:
The first question that pops into my mind is: Was he wedged in? Be interesting to see what the computer download (if there was one and if available) would show. I'm certainly focusing the word "wedge" in the article and also air in the BC. Is it possible he got stuck and was trying to use the BC to free himself? Because then the trigger is not out-of-air, but entrapment leading to out-of-air. And if you want to learn from this accident, that's an important distinction IMHO.
At the risk of inflaming ScubaGypsy again, the kid is 16. NAUI, PADI, SSI, & GUE all have 18 as the mininum age for cave-diving certification. No exceptions that I saw. SDI/TDI/ERDI and IANTD also say 18 but will drop to 15 with parental consent. I'm curious to know where the cert came from.
Even though the kid was not physically injured in this accident (emotional may be something else), more to the point of my personal discomfort, why does a 16 year-old "need" to be cave-certified (if indeed he was). Have we lost our minds?
- Ken
News-Journal:
The first question that pops into my mind is: Was he wedged in? Be interesting to see what the computer download (if there was one and if available) would show. I'm certainly focusing the word "wedge" in the article and also air in the BC. Is it possible he got stuck and was trying to use the BC to free himself? Because then the trigger is not out-of-air, but entrapment leading to out-of-air. And if you want to learn from this accident, that's an important distinction IMHO.
News-Journal:
At the risk of inflaming ScubaGypsy again, the kid is 16. NAUI, PADI, SSI, & GUE all have 18 as the mininum age for cave-diving certification. No exceptions that I saw. SDI/TDI/ERDI and IANTD also say 18 but will drop to 15 with parental consent. I'm curious to know where the cert came from.
Even though the kid was not physically injured in this accident (emotional may be something else), more to the point of my personal discomfort, why does a 16 year-old "need" to be cave-certified (if indeed he was). Have we lost our minds?
- Ken
Last edited:
Bob DBF
Contributor
My read is that he was found in a "wedge" which you could call the gaps shown on the left side of the drawing shown on the first page of this thread. If he had a medical event, I could see him drifting into one of these features after the fact. Although the quote did not say he was wedged, that could still happen just by trying to remove him in a different manner than he drifted in.
The problem with accidents, as usual, is the lack of good initial information and the lack of follow up in the media after the initial report of the fatality.
Bob
That's even more confusing.
OK I get that Dad wanted another dive. I don't believe he was trying for 120'. Probably a misreport due to the overall depth of the site. What I'm finding peculiar now is the report that his air wasn't all the way open. Or perhaps that's the answer? As Dad descended it got harder to breathe and he believed himself out of air? Attempts to save himself by dumping his weights, didn't help. Panic sets in . . .but hmm . . .he breathed the tank dry anyway? I'm going to have to read thst last article again.
---------- Post added June 13th, 2015 at 01:40 PM ----------
There's just a teeny bit more info here:
Autopsy: Man Drowned While Cave-Diving At Blue Spring : NewsDaytonaBeach
---------- Post added June 13th, 2015 at 01:41 PM ----------
It's hard to tell if Dad had gone in with a full tank in the first place.
From what I read, we don't know that (bolded sentence). He was found without a weight belt, but he probably didn't have one in the first place.
Angry Turtle
Contributor
Autopsy: Man Drowned While Cave-Diving At Blue Spring : NewsDaytonaBeach
"...Divers discovered Dervan’s weight belt about 14 feet below where his body was found and that his buoyancy jacket was partially filled with air, per the report....."
---------- Post added June 15th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ----------
It appears they edited that out....It no longer states that on the linked article.
Angry Turtle
Contributor
That is also how I read that. Look through these pictures (not mine, they belong to Dayo Scuba in Orlando) and you can see the "scalloping of the cavern walls. The flow in the middle is quite strong, but you can get into these "shelves" and get out of the water flow coming at you.
Diving with Dayo Scuba Orlando Florida
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